Page 72 of Claiming His Rejected Mate

I just watch.

Her hair is still in the braid, strands escaping to cling to her damp skin. Her soft floral and earthy scent is mingled with sweat and it wraps around me, drawing me to her. She’s barefoot on the sand, dirt smudged across her calves, sweat glistening along her arms.

All this, while still in her sundress. And it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

But when she finally pauses, when she finally looks up and sees me—the fire in her eyes threatens to burn me alive.

I take a slow step forward. “Hazel.”

She turns back to the dummy, delivering a final, brutal strike that breaks the dummy's neck before speaking. “Why are you here, Kieran?”

I exhale, raking a hand through my hair. “To explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain,” she says coolly, her breathing still heavy from the exertion. “You don’t owe me anything. Just like I don’t owe you anything.”

I step closer, just enough for her to feel my presence. “That’s not true.”

She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “You really think I’m that stupid?” She shakes her head, gripping the training staff so tightly her knuckles turn white. “You expect me to believe this wasn’t planned? That you just have me here as a tool while you fucking pick the Luna you want! Fuck that and fuck you Kieran. I’m done being used.”

I grit my teeth. “No, Hazel. It’s not—you’re wrong.”

She meets my gaze again, and there’s something cold in her expression. I see that she wants to argue, sass me back, prove to me how much of a shitface I am. But she sighs and I see the defeat on her face. It breaks me into a million pieces.

“Does it even matter?” She turns her eyes away from me, her voice cracking at the last word.

My chest tightens. “It should.”

She drops the staff, wiping sweat from her forehead before crossing her arms. “And why is that, Kieran? Because I’m your Mate and you think that’s what you should say?”

I clench my fists, frustration and desperation colliding. There’s noway else to show her that she is everything to me. She is my life. And without her... “Because I chose you.”

She lets out a bitter breath, shaking her head. “You don’t get to say that. Not after everything. Not after—” She swallows hard, looking away. “I let myself believe you’re different now. That maybe, just maybe, you meant the things you said.”

“I did mean it,” I say, stepping closer.

But she steps back.

That movement guts me more than any blade ever could.

She exhales sharply, her fingers curling into fists. “I can’t do this, Kieran. I can’t keep being your second choice, your afterthought. An option.”

My wolf growls, hating the distance between us, but I don’t push. I can’t.

She stares at me for a long moment, then shakes her head and turns away. “Don’t follow me.”

The ache in my chest tells me I won’t survive losing her again.

Chapter 23

Hazel

My breath feels like fire in my lungs.

The image of Nina touching my Mate is playing over and over in my head. But why? Can’t my heart just let him go?

He has shown he will do whatever he wants anyway. He will never choose me first.

Every step I took away from that scene was like walking on glass. The tears welled as I picked up a staff and poured out all my anger on the training dummy, wishing I could destroy this bond the way the first staff broke. I picked up another one but my rage was still like a vice.